Moonlight Sonata
by DarkNWriter
Summary: Aaron Hotchner is the leader of a pack of "misfits" near Quantico Virginia. But when his mate and pack is threatened, his must take action to protect the ones he loves. AU. Hotch/Reid. Emily/Alex. JJ/Will. Derek/Garcia. David/Jason.
1. Chapter 1

Dark gold eyes glance around the forest as a big black wolf prowls through the forest, snow crunching underneath his giant paws. He stops halfway, and lifts his snout up to the sky, and sniffs. A faint, unknown scent of another wolf comes to him, and his hackles rise at the thought of another wolf in his territory. A low growl erupts from his throat, as he begins to follow the scent. He stops every now and again to re-check to see if he's still following the trail. When the scent trail gets stronger, he hears yelps and whines.

His eyes narrow at the sound. Is there a fight going on in his territory? No...that can't be. There seems to only be one wolf here. He crouches, and slinks forward, peering through the bushes. His eyes narrow further into slits as he sees a dark, skinny brown timber wolf chasing after squirrels up a tree. The tall, and lean wolf tries to climb the tree after it, whining slightly. The young wolf seems to be attempting at hunting...which he is failing miserably at.

The black alpha lets out a growl, making the timber wolf's ears snap up in alarm. The black wolf slowly walks out of his spot, and stands tall, lips pulled back into a snarl. The timber wolf's ears snap back against his head, and whines low in his throat, crouching down. Claws scratching against the snow, the black wolf asks, "What are you doing on my pack's territory, pup?"

The timber wolf whines louder. "I-I..." he begins.

"You what, pup?" the black wolf growls, stalking forward, and ending up towering over the younger male wolf.

"I...I was hunting," his whines, "I didn't know t-this was a pack's territory..."

The black wolf snorts. "Of course you didn't..." he pauses, and then leans down to sniff the wolf's fur. The timber wolf shrinks away, as the black wolf reels back. "You...do not have a pack's scent. Do you not belong to a pack, pup?"

The timber wolf pauses, before shaking his head. "N-no..." he bark, "I do not belong to a pack. I travel alone with my mother. We were just passing through."

The black wolf cocks his head back. "Why do you not belong to a pack?"

"My mother has a medical condition," the wolf responds, "She was forced out of the pack when I was a moon old. She could not hunt for big game animals for both of us, so we had to live off of birds and squirrels. Her condition slowly got worse and pretty soon she could not even hunt for herself. I am sorry we came into your territory."

When he heard the timber wolf's story, a pang of pity ran through the black wolf's chest. "Pup, how old are you?"

The timber wolf gave the black wolf a suspicious look. "Twenty-two years old in human age..."

The alpha gave a little woof of amazement. For a twenty-two year old, this wolf is as skinny as hell. The black hesitated for a moment, before saying, "What's your name, pup?"

The timber wolf hesitated for a moment as well. "Spencer...Spencer Reid," the wolf responds.

"Well, Spencer," the black wolf stretches. "My name is Aaron Hotchner, and I am the pack leader of the pack that owns this territory. If you and your mother have no place to go, my pack will gladly take you in."

The timber wolf, Spencer, backs up at what the alpha says. "You're joking...aren't you?"

Aaron scowls at Spencer. "Do I look like I'm joking, pup?" he asks the young wolf, even though he knows it's a serious question. Aaron has been asked that question every time someone has asked to join his pack, whether it was a beta like Derek or an Omega like Garcia, someone was asking him that question. "What shall it be, Spencer?"

Spencer contemplates his decision for a moment, before saying, "I accept." Aaron nods.

"Follow me," he says, and begins to pad away, when suddenly Spencer speaks up.

"Wait, we need to go get my mother," he says worriedly.

The black wolf stops, and looks at the skinnier male. "We'll go and get here later. But for now, we need to take you to camp so none of the other pack members mistake your scent for someone else. Now, come."

"Daddy!" Jack exclaims, running up to his father, as the black wolf changes into his human form. Bones and ligaments crack as he shifts. Aaron rolls his neck once he's fully changed back, and puts on his clothes that he left in a pile by the gate.

"Hey, buddy," he responds, as he picks his son up. He glances behind him to see Spencer already changed into his human form, and is as naked as a jaybird. He made a mental note to get Spencer and his mother clothes. Jack peers at Spencer, and whispers into his father's ear, asking who that is. "It's a new member of our pack, buddy," Aaron says gently, "His name is Spencer." Jack nods, before Aaron carries his son in through the gate to their home, with Spencer on his heels.

"Derek and David are fighting again," Jack says, as they begin to hear loud growls and snarls. Aaron sighs. Perfect, just perfect. He glances back at Spencer to see said wolf looking quite alarmed. Slowly the noise gets louder, and louder, until they're in the clearing in front of the house. A dark brown wolf, and a black wolf with gray hairs sticking out from his fur are wrestling in the clearing, as a group of other watch worriedly from the porch, none of them are making a move to stop this.

A fairly slim girl with long blonde hair spots Aaron first, and leaps over the porch railing, and darts over to the group of three. "JJ," Aaron begins, "What's going on?"

"Derek and David couldn't agree on something again," she says with a sigh. "Both Jason and Will tried to stop them but it didn't work."

Aaron passes Jack off to JJ. "I'll handle this," he says, before shedding his clothes quickly, and turning back into his wolf form. Spencer stands there awkwardly as JJ realizes he's here. She gives him a polite smile, and is the first to speak.

"I'm Jennifer Jareau, but please call me JJ. I'm assuming you're here to join the pack?" she says. Spencer nods, as he watches Aaron dart forward, grabbing the dark brown wolf's scruff in between his teeth, a loud growl coming from the brown wolf. Aaron tosses him away from the black and gray wolf, sending the brown wolf skirting across the ground. The dark brown wolf scrambles up, hackles raised, and teeth bared at his alpha.

"Take a walk, Derek. Do not come back to the house until you have calmed down," Aaron speaks. Even in his human form, Spencer understood everything clear as day. The black and gray wolf-obviously David-shifts back to his human form, and a man with short black hair rushes forward to his fallen pack mate, and hands him a long sleeved shirt and jeans. David changes into them quickly, as Derek sends a growl at Aaron, before padding off.

Aaron's fur lies flat against his pack, and he changes back, before running over to David. "You okay?" he asks his packmate. David nods. "Good."

"You know, Aaron," David says stiffly, "I could have handled it myself."

"You so sure about that?" the black haired man that gave David the clothes says. "Because to me it looks like you were getting your ass kicked."

David lightly glares at the man. "Shut it, Jason," the dark haired man says, shoving the other in a loving fashion. The man, Jason, just grins at him.

Aaron rolls his eyes at the two. "Alright you two, enough. I have an announcement to make."

"What? That you think Emily is really hot and that you wanna steal her away from Alex?" a man with shaggy brown hair jokes. A young woman with black hair sends her a glare, and an older woman with dark brown colored hair smacks him in the back of the head.

"That's not funny, Will," the young woman chides lightly.

"Sorry, Emily," the man, Will, apologizes to the young woman. Then he glances at the other black haired woman, "Sorry, Alex."

"Apology not accepted," the woman, Alex, says. The young woman-Emily-walks over to Alex, and sends her a reassuring smile. Alex sends a weak smile back. "Anyways, Aaron, continue."

"Thank you," Aaron says easily, with a practiced smile. JJ tugs Spencer over to the group with a reassuring smile. Spencer hesitates.

"He's probably introducing you," she says, "You need to be over here." The timber wolf pauses, then nods, and follows the blonde haired woman.

"We have a new member to the pack," the pack alpha says, and motions to Spencer. The whole pack turns their gaze to the new member. Spencer gulps, and ducks his head. "His name is Spencer Reid, and his mother will also be joining us soon." The group nods. "Spencer, this is Will and Jennifer, and their son, Henry." Aaron speaks, nodding JJ, Will, and a small brown haired little boy, presumably Henry. "This is David Rossi and Jason Gideon," he says, nodding to said people. David sends Spencer's a nod of acknowledgment, and Jason just sends a reassuring smile.

"You probably know Alex and Emily," he nods to the pair. The two sends a nod to him. "You already saw Derek, and this is Garcia," he nods to said woman, with blonde hair. She smiles widely at Spencer.

"Hello!" she says excitedly.

Spencer smiles weakly back. "Hi..." he murmurs.

Aaron turns back to the group, and says, "Spencer and I are going to head back, and retrieve his mother. I want you all to stay here." After all of them nod, Aaron turns to Spencer. "Let's go," he says, before turning and leaping into the air, changing quickly into his wolf form. The timber wolf almost wanted to stare in awe at what he just saw, but then he quickly snapped out of it. He mumbles a quick yes sir, and changed back in a very ungraceful manner. Aaron raises his head to look at his pack, "We will be back soon," before turning, and running towards the gates, with Spencer on his heels.

They exit the gates, and Aaron makes sure the gate is shut, before he follows the way they came, back to the clearing where he found Spencer.


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you for everyone who added this to their alerts, favorited it, and reviewed! It made my day! :)  
By the way, this is unbeta'd, so if there's any mistakes, my bad! Sorry.  
Review responses: Chrissadox: I'm glad you enjoyed it :) and I'm happy it made your day!  
-

The two pad along in silence as the sun begins to set. Spencer lets out a small yawn, and Aaron's ears twitch. He figures from what Spencer told him earlier, that he hasn't eaten in a while. The amber-eyed wolf can't help but wonde,r if this is what kind of condition the young timber wolf is, what condition is his mother in?

Following the trail, the group of two slowly reach a clearing. Spencer stops, and looks around, running over to a tree that has a giant hole in the trunk, big enough for a small wolf to lay in. "Mom?" he asks quietly, sniffing at the den, then letting out a bark of alarm. "She's gone!"

The black wolf blinks, and pads up to Spencer, and lightly nudges the brown wolf out of the way, to see yes, that the wolf's mother is gone. Her scent is faint, so he can only assume she's been gone awhile. Spencer races away from the tree, and jumps onto a rock that juts upward towards the sky. He throws his head back, and lets out a long, almost sad, howl. He paused for a moment, ears pricked, before throwing his head back again, sending out another call.

He got no responses.

Spencer whines mournfully, and jumps down. "S-she's gone!" he says, whining low in his throat. Aaron pads over to the young wolf, and lightly touches his nose to his ear. A shock of electricity runs through Aaron. He would have backed away, but he chose not to, even though he knows what that shock of electricity means. His second mate. Spencer's his second mate.

On some rare occasions, wolves have one or more mates. They usually only have another mate besides their first one is for the reason of the first mate dying. And with Hailey dead...

Aaron shakes his head, as he looks at Spencer, who seemed to have realized what happened, but shook it off as well. "She knows that she isn't supposed to wander off, especially when I don't know where she's going," the young man says worriedly.

"Calm down," he speaks, "I'm sure she went to look for you. I'll call the rest of the pack, and we'll search for her until sundown. If we don't find her by then...I'm sorry, Spencer." Spencer pauses, grief evidence in his gaze, before nodding. Aaron pulls away from Spencer, and walks to the middle of the clearing, before slowly rising his snout to the sky, and letting out a howl. He listens, and then is responded to by Derek, and JJ. He responds once, before turning his gaze to Spencer. "They should be here any moment."

Spencer nods.

Derek was the first one to reach them. "What do you need Aaron?" he asks, flicking his ears. "If it's to scold me, don't. I know what I did was wrong, so, you don't need to say anymore."

"No, it's not that," the black alpha responds. "I'll explain it to you when everyone else is here." Derek nods. They didn't have to wait much longer, before JJ appeared in her white and gold pelt, Will behind her in his dark brown one. Then comes four black pelted wolves-Emily, Prentiss, David, and Jason-and one blonde colored wolf, presumably Garcia. All of them looked stronger than Spencer-way stronger-and almost as quick as him, so Spencer felt a little uneasy being by all these wolves.

"Spencer's mother has disappeared, I'd like all of you to split into pairs and search the territory. If you must go into neutral territory, do so. But, do not go into another pack's territory. Understand?" he says. They all nod. "Good. Now, JJ and Emily, you two will go to the west to see if you could find a trail of any kind. David and Jason, you'll head back to the house, and patrol the perimeter, to see if his mother has somehow stumbled across the house. Alex and Will, you two will go to the east and check for scent trails. Garcia and Derek, you'll go to the south. Spencer and I will take the north. If you find his mother, tell her you're a friend of Spencer's, and wish to bring her to him. Do not act hostile," he says, sending Derek a look. Derek rolls his eyes, before nodding. The group takes off in their directions; Jason and Derek's group heading in the same direction as the other.

Once the two are alone, Spencer speaks. "Aaron..." he begins. Aaron already knows what he's going to say.

"I know, Spencer," he responds, "I felt it too. But let's not worry about that. For now, let's worry about finding your mother." The brown timber wolf pauses, before nodding. They take off north from the clearing, leaping over a falling tree on their way. Spe ncer stumbled slightly, but he quickly shook it off, and took off in pace with Aaron. Both had their nose either to the ground, or to the sky, scenting the air for any sign of the missing wolf. Once they reached the border of the pack's territory, Aaron could plainly see how upset Spencer was. He touched his nose reassuringly to the younger wolf's ear. "We'll keep searching, Spencer. If we don't find her, maybe one of the other groups found her. Don't worry, Spencer."

Spencer raises his hazel eyes to meet Aaron's golden ones, and nods. "Alright..." he whispers out, before the two take a step off of the pack territory, into neutral land, and continue to follow the faint scent. They walk for about ten minutes, until Spencer frowns.

"What's wrong?" the black alpha asks the brown colored wolf as the slimmer of the two stops.

"This is the way we came when we came onto your territory," he says, "Sniff the air. My scent is also here, but faint. She didn't come back this way," he sounds disappointed. Aaron puts his snout to the ground, and sniffs. Yep, Spencer's right.

Aaron raises his head. "Spencer, I'm sorry," he says. He watches Spencer's ears go down, and his tail droop.

"Don't be," he responds, "It's my fault for leaving her alone..." Spencer sighs, before looking at the larger male, "Let's head back, maybe someone knows something." Aaron nods, not knowing what else to say. His pelt brushes the timber wolf's for a second, before he pads back towards his pack's territory, Spencer following suit.

"Did you find anything?" Aaron asks David, for he was the first member of the pack he saw. David was just about to pass by the gate on his patrol, when Aaron and Spencer approached. The black and gray wolf shook his head.

"No," he barks, "Neither did JJ, Emily, or Jason. They're in the house." Aaron nods, and turns to Spencer, whose ears and tail drops even lower, if it's even possible. "Alex and the others are still looking," he says, as he pushes the gate open with his head, as the three walk in. Aaron kicks the gate shut with his hind legs, and they pad to the house in silence. Jason meets them outside of the house, with three sets of clothing. The three wolves change back to humans, and put on the clothing handed to them, Spencer a little more hesitant than the others.

Aaron glances at the new member, before leading them inside. JJ was in the kitchen-obviously making dinner for the whole pack-and Emily was sitting on the couch, resting. David and Jason head upstairs. Spencer keeps his head bowed the whole time.

The alpha glances at the sad little wolf, and feels another pang of sadness. It makes him feel horrible that his possible future-mate is so close to him, and feels so much pain, and he can't do anything about it.

In less than an hour, the other pack members return home, with no such luck. In another thirty minutes, JJ has dinner ready, and everyone chows down. Spencer merely picks at his food the whole time, and makes no attempt to join in the conversation. Eventually, JJ clears her throat, and says, "So, Spencer," said wolf's head snaps up, "What pack did you belong to before..." she draws off.

Spencer straightens up slightly, as he continues to pick at his food. "I belonged to a pack north of Quantico. Our pack was fairly friendly, and took care of every member well. My mother was allowed to stay in the pack because she grew up with the pack leader, and never did anything that would make the leader want to kick her out. He was more than happy to find out my mother found her mate, and was even more happy for her when she had me. But...that changed when he was killed in a raid with another pack. His son took over, and his son wanted any weak links to be taken away from the pack. So, he forced my mother and I to leave."

"That's horrible!" Garcia gasps, while everyone stares at him like they didn't know what he just said. He ducks his head sheepishly.

Aaron frowned a little bit at this. A pack north of Quantico?... "Spencer...who's your mother?" he asks slowly.

"Diana...Diana Reid," he says slowly, as he puts his fork in his mouth. For some unknown reason, to Aaron, that name seemed really familiar. He only nods, before the room is returned to silence.

After the kitchen was cleaned up, the pack decided to have a bonfire. Jason and Emily gathered wood, while the others got chairs, and blankets. JJ and Garcia got some crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate for the fire. They also made hot chocolate. To be truthful, Aaron thinks they only had a bonfire because they wanted to make Spencer feel more comfortable around them, but he didn't dare question it.

Everyone talked and conversed easily around the bonfire, as they all made s'mores, Aaron and Will helping Henry and Jack with theirs. Aaron smiles widely at Jack, as the little boy eats the s'more with a big grin, getting chocolate and marshmallow on his face. He glances over to Spencer, who's talking to JJ, Garcia, and Derek. The timber wolf smiles easily at them, and chuckles at something Derek said. Said wolf ruffles the younger's hair, with a smile.

Aaron couldn't help but smile. His pack was accepting the new member without a second thought, which made him very proud to be alpha of this pack. And he was especially happy that Spencer was trying to fit into the pack as best as he could.

"Daddy," Jack says, trying to get his father's attention. He turns his gaze back to the young boy.

"Yes, Jack?" he asks, as the boy climbs into his lap.

"Why you staring at Spencer?" he asks curiously, cocking his head back, and staring up at his father with innocent eyes, as he bites into his s'more.

"No reason, Jack," he says, as he kisses the boy's forehead, "Why don't you go play with Henry?" The little wolf pauses, before nodding, and running off. Aaron rises from his chair, and walks over to the group of wolves. He walks up behind Spencer, and clears his throat. Spencer's head snaps up, and whips around to see Aaron standing behind him. He smiles reassuringly at the young wolf, before saying, "If you don't mind, I'd like to borrow Spencer for a bit."

"Of course not," the skinny male says as he rises from his chair, and follows Aaron away from the crowd towards the edge of the forest. "What do you want to talk about, Aaron?"

"About what happened earlier," the alpha responds. Spencer's face pales. "Please tell me you felt it too."

"Of course I did," was the response, "It was kinda hard to ignore it."

"I know we just met and all, but I want to know how you feel about it. About all of this. I won't make a move if you're uncomfortable...but I want you to know, if you are uncomfortable with it, and want to wait, I am okay with it." Aaron says reassuringly.

Spencer shifts uncomfortably from one foot to another. "I...I don't know," he responds, "I mean, yeah, we just met. But we were destined to be mates, you know? But I don't want to rush into anything. I...I think I'd like to get to know you, first, since...you know."

The black alpha smiles reassuringly. "I understand, and that's completely fine, Spencer. We'll take this at your pace."

"Thank you, Aaron," the timber wolf says with a large smile, before lightly kissing his possible future mate on the cheek. Aaron smiles back, not missing the spark of electricity, and excited yip his wolf did inside of him. He then watched the wolf disappear back to the bonfire. Aaron follows soon afterwards.


	3. Chapter 3

"What'd you have to talk to Pretty Boy about, boss?" Derek asks, when Aaron returns to the clearing. The question was asked in a low voice, making sure no one else hear. The leader raises an eyebrow at the nickname the dark pelted wolf had given the younger one.

"Something personal," he responds, before giving a small smirk, "Pretty Boy? Really, Derek?"

The younger wolf shrugs. "I don't know, it was the first thing that popped into my head, okay?" he says easily, before cocking his head back at his boss, "It looked like much more, than that, Aaron. I saw his kiss your cheek. Is...is he your second mate?"

The amber-eyed male paused for a moment, before nodding, "Yes," he says, "I could just...feel, it earlier when our pelts brushed. He's my second mate, but not officially. He wants to...I don't know. Get situated in the pack life first, before doing wanting to commit yet."

"And you're okay with that?"

"Of course I am!" he exclaims, trying to keep his voice under control. "Why wouldn't I be? If Garcia had wanted to take things slow when you two realized you were destined to be together, wouldn't you have been okay with it? As long as your mate-whether you're officially bonded or not-is happy?"

Derek thinks for a moment, before nodding. "Yeah, I would. I was just wondering, boss, because I know what's like to have your mate so close to you, but yet not be mated with them," he says, before walking away towards the group. He watches the loyal wolf leave, before padding over to his son and Henry, who were wrestling on the ground.

He grabs his son, and pulls him off of the other young wolf. He scrunches up his nose as he gets one whiff of his pup. "Boy, you need a bath, you smell horrid," he states, as he rests his son on his hip. "Then off to bed, with you."

Jack crosses his arms, and pouts. "I don't wanna!" he exclaims, "I want to play with Henry some more!"

"I'm afraid the same thing is happening to Henry too, Jack," JJ says, as she scoops up her pup. "Bath then off to bed."

Jack continues to pout. Aaron and JJ chuckle at the look of the young pup, and walks into the house to give their young one's a bath.

"So, Spencer, is it?" Spencer's head snaps up at the sound of the voice, and looks up to see Jason standing in front of him. He nods weakly, as he watches the much older wolf sit down in front of him, the fire burning brightly behind the black pelted wolf. "I hear you're from that pack north from Quantico."

"That's correct, sir," he stutters.

"That's quite a long ways away from here," Jason says, "You must have really wanted to get away from that pack. What did they do, aside from what you stated earlier, to you two that made you want to move this far away from them?"

Spencer's dark colored eyes stare at the older male, before they slowly close. "They threatened to kill both my mother and I if we did not leave. I have two other siblings that stayed behind, and so did our father, since I was the runt of the litter, and because of my mom's medical condition. My father wanted nothing to do with us anymore, and my brothers couldn't decide since they were so young. So, we ran, we ran as hard as we could away from the pack until we reached neutral territory. We've been traveling ever since."

Jason lowers his gaze. "I'm sorry, that's horrible," he apologizes. Spencer shrugs, as to say it's no big deal, that he's over it. "It must seem like I'm prying, but...if you're comfortable enough to tell me, who was your pack leader?"

Spencer freezes. "I...I don't want to talk about it," he says, a whimper almost coming out from his throat. Jason nods.

"Okay, but if you ever want to talk about it, I'm always willing to listen," the experienced wolf says, before walking over to his mate, taking him by the hand, and heading inside. Spencer tells the remaining pack members he's turning in for the night, before heading inside. He bumps into Aaron on the way in.

"Oh, Spencer, I was looking for you," the alpha says, not even seeming a little upset that the younger wolf wasn't paying attention. The timber wolf looks up at his possible future-mate. "Since we weren't expecting a new pack member, we don't have a space for you to sleep yet."

Spencer shrugs. "It's okay. I'll just sleep on the couch," he says. Aaron narrows his eyes darkly at that.

"Like hell you are," he says, "You're sleeping upstairs in my room. I'm sleeping on the couch. And before you say anything, it's only for tonight. Tomorrow, Alex and I are heading into town to get some supplies. We'll get stuff for what will become your room while we're out." Spencer sighs, and nods. He knows it's useless to fight against an alpha's wishes once they've been made.

"Okay, Aaron," he says. Aaron then leads the young male up the stairs, and past a bunch of doors-closed or open-before stopping in front of a room at that end of the hall. He opens it, and walks in, with Spencer following.

"This is where you'll be staying for the night," he says, "There's a bathroom through those doors," he nods to a door across from the bed, "and there's some clothes laying on the counter in there as well."

"Okay, thank you," he says, smiling at the older male, who just smiles in return, before leaving.

"You're sleeping on the couch?" Aaron looks up from his spot of making his bed for the night to see Alex standing in the entrance in between the dining area and the living room, a cup of water in her left hand. "Does little Spencer have you wrapped around his little claw already?" she jokes.

"Oh haha," he says, rolling his eyes, "And yes, I am sleeping on the couch. Mainly because I don't want Spencer to have an unpleasant night here first day here."

Alex just sends the man a smile. "Whatever you say. Goodnight, Aaron," she says, before reatreating to bed.

"Goodnight, Alex."

Spencer was awoken in the middle of the night by a sound outside his door. He sat straight up in the bed, and looked around. He then got up, and pulled the pajama shorts higher up as he stalked over to the bed.

On his way over, he trips and falls. "Mother trucker!" he shouts, as he crashes to the ground. He flinches, hoping he didn't wake anyone up. That's the last thing he needs. He sits up, and rubs his head, before crawling across the floor to the door, not trusting his feet. The lean timber wolf grabs the door knob, and slowly turns it, before shoving his head outside, bonking heads with someone. "Ouch!" he exclaims in a quiet voice, as he lets out a hiss of pain.

"I-I'm sorry!" the shaky voice says, "I-I didn't mean to hurt you!" the child-like voice says. Spencer recognizes the voice as the alpha's son, Jack.

"It's okay," Spencer says reassuringly, before peering at the young werewolf. "Jack, what are you doing up? I thought Aaron put you to bed hours ago."

"H-he did, but I heard a scary noise." The child says, looking up at the other wolf with big, sad eyes. "I went downstairs to sleep with daddy, but he was on the couch, and there was not enough room. I-I came up here to s-see if the bed was empty. I-it's obviously not, I'll just..." he began to leave, and Spencer took pity upon him. The child was obviously terrified, and he knows what's like to be terrified of some unknown noise.

"Jack...wait, come here," he murmurs, holding his hand out to the kid. The child turns his gaze upward to meet the adults'. "You can sleep with me, if you'd like. If you'd feel safe, or better, or..." Spencer didn't even get to finish his sentence, before the child was in Spencer's arms, his skinny arms wrapped around the taller's neck.

"Okay, Spencer," he says, hugging the older man tightly. Something unrecognizable swells in Spencer's chest, as he picks the kid up, and walks over to the bed, laying Jack on the side of the bed that he was not laying on, before laying down himself.

The kid turns, and faces Spencer, before saying, "You're nice," in a tired tone, and closing his eyes. Spencer's heart swells. He's only been in the pack for about a day, and he was already beginning to become liked...he just hoped it'd all last, and not be yanked away.

"Emily, have you seen Jack this morning?" father of said child asks the dark haired woman, who shakes her head. He lets out a sigh of exasperation. There's no telling where that child has wandered off too...

"Jack's upstairs," comes Spencer's tired voice. The two look up to see said young adult walking down the staircase, the pant legs dragging against the ground. "He came to the room where I was staying for the night, and said he was terrified. He, well, kinda..." the brown haired male rubs the back of his head, not knowing what to say.

"He asked you if he could sleep with you to make himself feel better," the black pelted alpha says, knowing some of his sons' tendencies to get scared during the night, and going to a pack member if his father is there, or is in a situation where he can't sleep with him. Like, last night for example.

"Yeah, that," Spencer says, rubbing the back of his head, "I...I hope you don't mind. I...I just knew could tell how terrified he was, and didn't want him to wander around the house terrified."

"It's fine, Spencer," Emily laughs, "We've all had to have to do that before; whether it be Henry or Jack, we've all had to take care of them like that before." Spencer seems a little relieved at that.

"Okay," he says, before sitting down with them. "What is going on today?"

"Well..." the female wolf says, glancing at Aaron, who takes a sip of coffee.

"Derek, David, and Jason are going to patrol the border today. Garcia, JJ, and Emily offered to take care of the children for today, and to do some work around the house, while Alex and I head to the city to get some much needed items. You are free to join us, if you'd like."

"I think I'll take you up on that offer," the tired male says, as he stretches. "It's been a long time since I've been to the city."

"When did you go to the city, Spence?" Emily asks.

"About four years ago..." he says slowly. "And as for why...it was to raid a marketplace. Which, I regret, but we were desperate for food..."

The two other wolves share a glance. "It's okay, Spence," Emily says, "We aren't judging you because of your past. You did what you had to do to survive, and we understand that."

Aaron nods in agreement, and lightly rubs the younger's shoulder. "Don't be ashamed of your past," he says, "Your past made you who you are, and you should be proud of yourself..."

Spencer only sends a sheepish nod. "Okay, Aaron, Emily, if you say so." Emily and Aaron share another glance, before the only female in the room turns, and walks over to the kitchen stove, beginning to cook that morning's breakfast.

"What's for breakfast, Emily?" Aaron asks with a yawn, as he sets his hand on the counter, his knuckles slightly brushing Spencer's. The hair on the back of Spencer's neck rises at the action, that has the other completely unfazed.

"French toast, pancakes, bacon, sausage, and a drink of your choice, naturally." Emily responds, tying her hair back into a bun, before setting to work. Aaron nods, before stretching, and striking up a conversation with her.

Soon people slowly begin to come down from their rooms; first David and Jason, then Alex, then Derek and Garcia, then finally Will, JJ, and Henry. Jack comes down around the time the food is ready, stomach growling loudly. "Finally you decided to join us," Aaron says with a chuckle, as his son walks up to him, arms outstretched towards his father. He lifts the dirty blonde haired boy up, and rests him on his knee. "Did you sleep well?" The sleepy child leans against his father's chest, and nods, rubbing his eyes, as two plates are set in front of them. The other pack members get their own plates, and begin to eat, getting ready to prepare for the day ahead.

Spencer's the first to finish (he didn't eat much, really), followed closely by Aaron and Jack, then Alex. Garcia took their plates, and puts them in the sink, starting to clean up, because she was also done. "Go get ready," he says to Alex and Spencer. "We're leaving in forty."

"'Kay," Alex says, passing her mate, before heading up to their room. Aaron takes Jack off of his leg, and sets him down, before heading to his bathroom to change. Spencer shifts uncomfortably in his seat.

"What does he mean by in forty?" he asks, confused, biting his lower lip.

David chuckles as he sets his plate in the sink as well. "He means you're leaving in forty minutes," he watches as an "oh" look crossed the hazel eyed male's face, "I suggest you go take a shower in the guest bathroom, which is the first door on the left."

Spencer nods. "Thank you," he says, before heading to said room to get ready.


	4. Chapter 4

When Spencer walked out of the bathroom, he was in a shirt too big for him, and pants at dragged on the ground. He had found some pins, and pinned the pant legs up, and he just tucked the shirt into his pants. When he walked down into the kitchen, his face was burning with embarrassment.

Aaron and Alex look up from where they're talking, and both chuckle as they see the embarrassed look on the younger's face. "You look fine, Spencer," the pack alpha says, trying to reassure the young male. Spencer dips his head down, running a hand through his wet curls. He murmurs something like "if you say so". The two other packmates share a glance, before Alex clears her throat.

"Well...um, okay, then." she says uneasily. "Let's get going, we have a long day ahead of us." Aaron grabs his jacket, and tosses one to Spencer, before heading out the door with the female wolf, Spencer struggling to put on the jacket and getting out the door quick enough.

He follows the two older wolves down the porch staircase, and over to the garage, a Chevy Silverado waits for them. He doesn't say a word, as they all climb into the vehicle. Spencer buckles up quickly, and zips up his jacket. Aaron slides the key into the ignition, and turns the truck on, before packing up the truck, and taking off down the gravel road.

MS

"What are we doing here?" Spencer asks as they park in a Kohl's parking lot. Aaron shuts the truck off, and glances at Alex, who gives him a "is he that oblivious?" look. The leader just shrugs, before looking in the rearview mirror at Spencer.

"We figured the other errands can wait a bit," he says, "You having clothes that fit are a little more important than getting Jack and Henry the newest Scooby-Doo movie." The timber wolf blinks, before slowly nodding, and unbuckling. The three get out of the car, before heading inside the store. Spencer's jaw almost drops when he sees all the clothes. Spencer-still used to being in his wolf form one hundred percent of the time-was having a hard time adjusting to all of this. First you walked around your pack territory as a human, ate like a human, slept as a human. Hell, now he's even dressing like a human. For him, it felt like everything was changing too fast...

But for some odd reason...he liked the change. Fast, or not, he liked it.

Alex lightly grabs Spencer's wrist. "Come on, men's clothes are towards the back of the store," she says, before pulling the younger wolf along. He looks back towards the black haired male, and sends him a "help me!" look, before he disappears behind a couple of racks. Aaron chuckles lightly, before heading back towards the area they have sheets.

MS

"Alex! I can look for clothes myself," the twenty-two year old whines, as Alex shoves clothing item, after clothing item, into Spencer's arms.

She raises an eyebrow at him. "This is coming from the man who's only been in a city once and it was only to steal food from the marketplace. Yes, I think you'd definitely know how to pick out clothing," she says, trying to put it in the best way possible.

Spencer pouts, but nods. Alex continues to look for clothes, until he has about five pairs of jeans, ten t-shirts, and a fair number of socks. "Okay, go try these on." she says, shoving him towards a dressing room.

"What if it doesn't fit?" inquires the brown haired wolf.

"Tell me, and I'll get something in a smaller or bigger size," she says easily, before pushing him into a dressing room, and closing the door. Spencer peers around the small room, before sighing, and doing as the elder woman had told him to do.

Aaron soon arrives at the men's clothing, with a bag that holds Spencer's comforter, bedspread, and sheets. "Is he in there changing?" the alpha asks. The beta looks up, and nods, before raising an eyebrow at the bag.

"Yeah, chief, he is. And are you sure he's gonna want that?" she asks, nodding to the bag, "You've only known him for about a day or two."

"I am his possible future-mate," Aaron says in a low, slightly offended tone, "I know this is what Spencer would have chosen, anyways." Alex's eyebrow arches further upward towards her hairline.

"You know for sure that's what he wants?" she asks. When she sees him nod, she gaps slightly at him. "Wow, for you to know that, without even being mated yet, is quite impressive. You must be..." she pauses, and gasps.

"We must be what?" Aaron asks, not quite catching on, on what the beta is trying to say.

"You must be soul bond mates!" she says, eyes bugging out of her head, "That's the only reason! Your souls must be compatible...in both wolf and human form! Aaron! That's completely rare, and you're one of them! Oh my gosh, oh my gosh..." the normally calm wolf exclaims.

"Whoa, Alex, slow down, explain to me what is so... "amazing" about this," the black haired man asks, his inner wolf's ears twitching with slight irritation. The black haired woman's inner wolf doesn't seem to have noticed the twitch of irritation.

"On rare occasions, a werewolf has a soul bond mate; one which is compatible with their wolf form, and human form. So, if you were to be completely human, Spencer would be your soul mate. If you were to be completely wolf-like, your soul mate would still be Spencer," her eyes dart towards the dressing room, before back to her leader, "When usually as a werewolf; you have just a...soul mate, one you're compatible with as a wolf. For you to be compatible in both forms...well...that is truly amazing, Aaron."

The leader cocks his head back, in wonder. "So...does everyone have a soul bond mate?" he asks. Alex opens her mouth to respond, when another cuts her off.

"No, only a few do. Statistics shown by a werewolf professor at Yale University says that only about thirty-four percent of werewolves have soul bond mates, and only about thirteen percent actually find their soul bond mate," Spencer says, making the two other werewolves' hackles rise at the unexpected comment. They both turn to look at the younger wolf, who has a pile of clothes in his arms, and his other clothes back on. "Why? What has brought this up?"

"Apparently, you and Aaron are soul bond mates," Alex says, "Which, of course, it totally mind-blowing to me."

Spencer's inner wolf cocks his head back curiously. "Is that so?" he asks, looking at his future mate. When Aaron nods, Spencer only smiles, before saying, "Alex, the clothes fit. We can leave this...horrible place, now." Alex nods, and takes the clothes, before heading to checkout. Aaron and Spencer follow more slowly behind. The brown timber wolf eyes the bag Aaron is holding, before asking, "What's in there?"

"Hm? Oh, your sheets," the black wolf responds, before handing the bag to the other, who immediately looks in the bag. The pack leader smiles at the younger's curiosity.

Spencer's head snaps up after he's done doing his "investigation" of the sheets. "How did you know I would want this?" he asks, but then pauses, before answering his own question, "The soul bond mate thing...of course! How else would he know?" Aaron stands there silently, not really knowing what to do. "Thank you, Aaron," the other responds with a smile, before heading quickly to find Blake.

"Uh..." the alpha says slowly, before following, "You're welcome?..."

MS

"We're going into the market," Aaron says, as he parks the truck. "Do you want to come with us? You don't have too." He watches as Spencer eyes the market, and sees that he suddenly looks a little nervous.

"I'll take you up on that offer, thanks," Spencer says, before watching them exit the truck, and head into the market. He stretches out upon the back seats, arching his back, as his lithe body spreads out. He stops, relaxes, and lays down, closing his eyes, and letting out a yawn. Being in his human form for almost two days now has really gotten to the young wolf; he is not use to being in it for so long. The last time he was in this form for this long was when...

He shivers at the thought, him slowly being creeped out by the fact that that was the first thing to pop into his mind. Spencer lays there in the truck for a while, before his mind starts to wander. "I wonder why they took me in?" he wonders aloud. "What could I possibly have that would be any good for the pack?" he sighs, before adding in defeat, "All I am is a burden." He knew if his pack members heard the way he was thinking, he'd be scolded immediately.

But, they need to understand one thing; Spencer has never been in a pack that not has discarded him once they found out how much of a burden he is. How is not to expect that this pack is going to do the same thing? Well...he knows Aaron said that they'd never get rid of him or his mother, that now they're pack members.

For life.

MS

"Aaron," Alex asks, as the two walk through the market, grabbing needed items as they go. Said alpha lets out a grunt, letting the beta know he's listening. "You know, it was a very idiotic idea to leave Spencer in the truck by himself. What if he runs away because he got spooked? Or, some nearby wolves scent him, and go, and attack him?"

"You worry too much, Alex," comes the response, as they stop by the cold cuts. "He's got a brain, you know. He knows his best option is to stay in the truck, because he doesn't even have any idea to get back to the forest from here. Also, he's not a dog, Alex. He's got claws and canines like you and me, he can defend himself."

"I know he can," the black beta responds, "But, he told us he's only been by civilization a couple of times. This is probably freaking him out." Aaron pauses, before nodding, and sighing.

"You're right, Alex." Aaron responds, as Alex gives him a triumphant grin. "We should probably head back."

"Now that brain of yours is working," she says jokingly, before the two pay for the food, and head back to the truck.


	5. Chapter 5

They were pleasantly surprised to find Spencer still in the truck when they got back; he had actually fallen asleep. The two shared a look, before they went back to the pack's territory.

MS

The three pack members returned to the house around three in the afternoon; Derek, Emily, and David went out on a patrol, from the looks of it. Jack and Henry-when they pulled up-were playing hide-and-seek with Will and JJ, but when Jack saw the truck pull up, he followed it into the garage. Alex grabbed the bags, before heading inside, leaving Aaron to wake up the sleeping timber wolf in the back. "Hey..Spence," he begins, gently shaking his pack mate, "Wake up. We're home." Even though he has said it countless times before, 'home' rolls weirdly off of Aaron's tongue. He scowls a bit at that, but shakes it off.

Spencer groans, and buries his head into the seat cushions. "Spencer, come on," the pack alpha growls, "Get up." At the commanding tone coming from his alpha, said wolf sits straight up in the truck, eyes wide. The twenty-two year old scrambles up, and darts out of the truck, and into the yard. Aaron slowly eases himself out of the truck, as Jack runs up to him. He smiles at his son as he nears.

"Dad," the young wolf asks, "What's wrong with Spencer?" The older was about to ask what his son meant by that, when he heard the door slam, and he instantly knew. "Did you yell at him like you do at Uncle Derek?"

"No...he was just..." the pack alpha really had no idea how to go about this situation, so...he lied, "...cold."

Jack frowns. "But...how is he cold? I thought all werewolves had a resistance to cold..."

"Er...Spencer's a special case," Aaron says, in a tone that says, 'that's that'. Jack doesn't look so sure, but nods anyways, and walks away to go play hide and seek once again with Henry. Aaron heads into the house, to find Spencer assisting Alex in putting stuff away. "Spencer," he begins. The wolf freezes, and nods, to show he is listening, "I didn't mean to...uh..act so..er, commanding, towards you earlier."

The timber wolf smiles at his alpha. "It's okay. I don't mind being bossed around...after all, you are alpha. Why should I mind?" he says, as he puts some more stuff away. Alex sends her leader a "wtf was that?" look. The black haired alpha shrugs slightly, giving her a 'I don't know', look.

"Hey, Aaron, I think Jack was telling me he had something to show you earlier," Alex says, giving him a suggestive look. He nods, before excusing himself, and walking outside. Jack looks up at his father, and waves rapidly as his father nears him. "Hey, bud," he begins, kneeling in front of his son. "Alex tells me you have something to show me."

The pup's eyes brighten, and he nods. "Yup! Watch this, dad!" his son exclaims, and before he knew it, his son was changing in front of his eyes. Jack got to his halfway point, and that was it. He couldn't change any further-Aaron knew that, and so did Jack-but, it was a change none-the-less, and Aaron was a proud father. He smiles at his son, whose tongue lolls out of his mouth. "Catch me if you can!" the pup barks, before taking off; being in the halfway form making him much more quicker, and agile.

Aaron-not thinking-changed into his halfway form too, before chasing his pup, the members of his pack watching father and son interact, most of them with a smile on their face. Although, there was one hiding in the trees that scowled at the sight.

MS

Tobias Hankel, to say the least, wasn't a very...stealthy, wolf. Because of that flaw, it was one of the main reasons as to why he got kicked out of every pack he joined. He just wasn't stealthy enough. But, when a white wolf with golden eyes asked him if he wanted to his pack, he accepted it. The wolf then taught him how to work without getting caught. And when the pack alpha knew he was ready, he sent him on a mission to spy on this pack of misfit wolves down south. He had heard of them through his travels, and he knew they were a fairly peaceful pack, and took in wolves that needed a home. And even broken ones, such as wolves like Derek Morgan, David Rossi, and now, Spencer Reid.

Tobias almost laughed aloud when he saw Spencer with that pack one day when he was spying on them. Of course, a pathetic pack wanted a pathetic member. Why wouldn't they? It's just one more pathetic soul.

He eyes the pack with interest. From what his pack alpha has told him, each of these misfits were kicked out for a specific reason; or they just left. His alpha dug deep within the old lives on these pack mates, because so far, this is all Tobias has learned:

Aaron Hotchner, the pack alpha, was born and raised in a pack north of Quantico. That pack, was notorious for being very cruel, and unforgiving; they had that 'attack first, ask questions later', attitude. The pack leader, was Nathan Foyet, and Aaron's father was best friends with Nathan growing up, causing Aaron, and his brother, Sean, to learn how a pack is ran. By the time Aaron was sixteen, he was helping set up hunting, and territory patrols. He was also leading war attacks. Sean left before Aaron; heading to one of the packs up north in New York. Supposedly, the two haven't talked since.

When Aaron was twenty-five, he met Haley, and they became mates. They had Jack three years later. About a year after Jack was born, Aaron came home to find Haley dead in a pool of her own blood, killed by the alpha's son, George Foyet. Aaron, in a fit of rage, attacked. When the pack heard of this, Foyet made up a lie that he was only checking up on the black pelted wolf's wife when he found her dead. The pack believed the alpha's son, and therefore tossed both Jack and Aaron out of the pack. About a year later, he formed this pack of misfits.

David Rossi, one of Aaron's closest friends, was born and raised into the pack (the only pack) on Long Island, living there most of his life. David had met Aaron a couple of times when their packs had gatherings (and occasional wars) and had become friends because of it. David was the first person outside of the pack to hear about his friend being tossed from the pack, even before Sean. The Long Island native rushed to his friend's side-considering he had no mate or pups to look after in the pack-and helped Aaron take care of the one year old until the pack was formed, where he met his mate, Jason Gideon.

Jason Gideon, who was the third to last person to join the pack (which does not count Spencer), was not raised in a pack, but knew about his heritage. He often went to the pack close to his hometown, to learn about his heritage, and to run with them on full moons. His first ever pack he actually belonged to, was, of course, Aaron's pack. Jason did not know David was his soulmate, until about three years after the pack had formed, and David finally told him.

Jennifer Jareau, was born in the same pack as her future mate, Will LaMontagne, near Pittsburgh. They had had an arranged marriage because their pack still did those, and because Will was the son of the pack alpha. Will and JJ did not get along at first, and would not even hold hands, until one day they accidently ran into each other, and felt that same spark every mate pair does when they first touch. They have been together since, and JJ was pregnant with Henry when they left the pack because Will did not want to take over the responsibility of becoming pack alpha.

Alex Blake, who sometimes acts as the pack's medic, likes to keep her past a secret, even from her mate, Emily Prentiss. When she joined the pack, she limped in, was covered in blood, and could barely speak. Once she recovered, she was very...snippy, with them, and would get angry at them for every little thing. Eventually, she told them a little bit about herself, but not much is known.

Emily Prentiss is sorta like Alex in a way. Not even Tobias' pack alpha could dig up much about her. According to some of her packmates, Emily is very quiet, and withdrawn, but they can hear her sometimes crying at night, for an unknown reason. They never ask her, though.

Hm...who is left? Oh, yes, Penelope Garcia. Mate to Derek Morgan. She is very...chipper, for someone who got thrown out of her pack because she led their enemy pack right to their camp; even though they were not the kindest to her. She does not seem to care, though. According to both her and Derek, they met on the way here, and started off as friends, until about the halfway point here, then they became mates because they knew they were soulmates, and that it was going to happen eventually.

Onto Derek Morgan. This sometimes hot-headed beta has been kicked out of two packs, and left one on free will. The first one he left, because he had been sexually abused by one of his packmates at a young age. Derek, knowing his pack would not believe him because the man who was sexually abusing him would 'never do such a thing!'. He left to another pack in the south, which, would not accept him because that pack was still incredibly racist. Derek then went to a pack in Florida Keys, and got kicked out of that one for violent behavior. Then he met Garcia on the way up to the pack they're at now, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Tobias almost wanted to start laughing, as his mind rolled onto the newest member. Spencer...Spencer Reid. He grinned to himself, as he saw said wolf through the windows of the house, and slightly thanking himself for thinking of disguising his scent. Tobias licks his lips as he remembers what Spencer was like; in pack life, and during sex. He chuckles as he remembers of how of a howler Spencer was...he shakes his head, before remembering that blasted mother, who decided to leave their pack, even though they were safe. They decided to leave their second home, because of him, and it makes his hackles rise thinking about it. There is nothing wrong with Tobias Hankel, oh no. But his brothers on the other hand...

He shakes his head, before letting out a small yawn, and watching the pack head inside. He grins to himself, as a thought strikes him. All of his pack members, either once knew, or was once pack members with, someone in this pack. It almost makes him want his tail to curl at the irony.

Because you got Carl Buford who wants Derek...

Tobias, himself, who wants Spencer...

Henry Grace, who just wants to make David pay for something he once did to him...

Izzy Rogers, who calls herself the "Queen of Diamonds", who was once a pack member of Emily Prentiss' that has now gone rogue...

Adam Jackson, having a personal grudge against Will, because the two once ran into each other in the forest, and Will brutally attacked Adam because the other thought the young wolf was a potential threat to his mate...

Margaret Hallman, having a personal grudge against Derek, because he did not 'die' when she 'commanded' him to, and I quote, 'fucking die already!'.

Jonny McHale, having a grudge against Rossi, because the man questioned the younger wolf about his mate and unborn child mysteriously dying. Also because Rossi went to the pack alpha, and got the young male kicked out.

And last but not least...their pack alpha. Who has a personal grudge against a certain wolf inside the pack, and who can't wait to see their blood run.

Tobias laughs at his thoughts, and can't help but feel a little pity towards the pack below.

They have no idea what's coming.


	6. Chapter 6

By the time night time rolled around, Jack had learned how to fully transform, and Henry had attempted too. Aaron felt proud; his pack was slowly becoming stronger. First with the addition of Spencer, and now with the two pups becoming older. Aaron ushers the two inside; since it's now about ten to fifteen degrees colder, and night has come upon the forest. The pack alpha looks around, before sniffing the air. He catches a wolf's scent-one he's never scented before-and his hackles rise. He shuts the door, and stalks towards the middle of camp. He looks around, before sniffing again, catching the wolf's scent again. Someone's there. He knows it...and his wolf knows it.

And frankly, knowing that tidbit of information is really pissing his inner wolf off.

He hears the tree branches rustle; but only a pair, in a tree that stands directly in front of the house. He raises his eyes, and scans his golden gaze over the tree, his canines coming out, as he spots the red eyes of the intruding wolf. Every wolf instinct inside him tells him that he should attack first, and ask questions later, but he forces that instinct back. A possessive growl wants to rip from his throat, but he manages out a, "I know you're there. Come out now, and I won't attack you," instead.

The red eyes stare at me for a brief second, before they're gone, and he hears footsteps retreating quickly. A loud growl erupts from his throat, as he hears the door to the house open, and one of his pack members stepping out onto the porch. "Aaron, what's wrong?" comes Emily's voice, but he barely registers the words, before he's leaping into the air, changing into his wolf form, not worrying about his clothes that fall to shreds on the ground. Aaron takes off into a sprint after the wolf, following the scent. Even though he is possibly slower than the wolf-considering from the look of it, he has longer legs than the alpha does, which should make him quicker by comparison.

But, that's when Aaron notices his slight limp. From a past injury, that is still giving him trouble with it today. He quickens my pace, knowing very well he could catch him. The black pelted wolf catches up with him quicker than he suspected, and tackles the chestnut colored wolf to the ground. The wolf lets out a yelp of surprise, and they both tumble to the ground. He doesn't recover as quickly as Aaron does, and then the alpha's on him, holding him down with one paw on his chest, and one paw on his throat. He shoves his snout in his face, and growls out, "Answer my question. Now."

He stops, and growls, glaring at me, before spitting at the older in the face. Aaron growls, and wipes at his eyes with his paw, which was a bad mistake on his part. The younger's head snaps forward, biting on Aaron's shoulder. The stronger lets out a howl of pain, then yelps as the intruder claws his belly. The alpha falls to the side, and the red-eyed wolf takes off. The injured wolf hobbles up, before running after the wolf as best as he can with a limp. He stops when he reaches the edge of his pack's territory, and stares after the retreating wolf's form.

He hears his footsteps coming up behind him, and he recognizes the scent as his packmates; Emily, David, Derek, and Spencer. He turns to face them, favoring his right leg, blood spilling from the open wound on both his shoulder and belly. The four wolves stop in front of him as David asks, "Aaron, are you alright?" before they notice the blood.

"Aaron..." his soul bond mate begins, gasping in surprise at his future mate's wounds. The other pack members stare at their leader in shock.

"Spencer..." comes the reply, as his eyes begin to droop, and he falls to the ground, his world going black.

MS

Tobias was more than surprised when Aaron ran after him without backup. An alpha would never do that when there's an intruder. They'd always bring backup with them...

But, Tobias was glad he didn't. Or, he'd be dead. Which would be a shame. Wouldn't it?

MS

When Spencer saw Aaron fall, he wanted to let out a wail. His mate was hurt and injured, and he could do nothing but stand there and watch him collapse in front of his eyes. His throat tightened, when Derek and David rushed forward, picking up their alpha, and balancing him between them. "Go back, Spencer, and tell Alex to get the first aid kit," Emily says, looking at the younger, "We'll bring him back to camp."

Spencer looks longingly at his mate, before nodding, turning, and running. He made it back to camp in about three minutes, and by the time he changed back, Alex was waiting on the porch. When she saw his ashened face, she immediately began to get worried, but forced it back for Spencer's sake, knowing it's probably something about Aaron. "I'm guessing the first aid kit is needed?" she asks. Spencer nods, taking a shuddering breath. She sighs, and turns away from the young wolf, before walking inside, worry gnawing at her.

He runs after her, and follows her to the cabinet where they keep the first aid kit. "H-he'll be okay, right?" he asks shakily, "I mean...he can't die. If he dies...what will the pack do?" Spencer knows the answer to his question, but he doesn't want to think about Aaron being replaced; doesn't want to think about his mate dying.

"...Spencer, I am not going to lie to you..." Alex says, as she grabs the kit, and then heads back to the living room, where a very worried pack waits. "Depending on how bad the wounds are, and how much blood he has lost, he could die. It also depends on if any of the wounds have started to become infected. I am hoping none of those things have happened to Aaron, but...if it has, I will try my best to take care of them. Now, where are his wounds?" Spencer opens his mouth to speak, when the porch door swings open, and slams closed. David and Derek drag a now human Aaron in, who groans in pain when they lay him on the couch.

"He has some very deep cuts on his stomach, and shallow bite marks on his shoulder," Emily says, walking over to her mate, as David covers Aaron's lower half with a blanket. Both of the wolves who carried their alpha in are covered in their pack leader's blood. Jason ushers his mate upstairs, and Derek automatically goes back to his and Garcia's room to change. "No signs of infection, but...he has lost a decent amount of blood. Would you like me to call up Strauss to see if she can deliver us some blood for the transplant?"

"I think we still have some in the fridge in the garage...go get it for me, love?" Emily nods, before heading out to the garage. Alex looks over to her alpha, before taking a deep breath, and rummaging through the first aid bag. "JJ, Will, will you please take the pups out of here? They don't need to see this...especially not Jack."

"Already on it," JJ says, walking into the room, "Will is reading them a story, they're heading off to bed..." Alex nods, before turning back to Aaron, with a sheet of cotton in her hand. She pours peroxide onto it, before slowly wiping it over the older's stomach. Subconsciously, the black pelted alpha's hand clenches the couch, and lets out a small yowl of pain. Something flashes over the woman's face, but she takes a shaky breath, before continuing to wipe down the wound. When she's about to move to the shoulder wound, Emily returns with a bag of blood.

"We don't need it anymore, Em," her mate says, "Sorry..." Emily smiles, before nodding, and saying it's alright, before disappearing once again. Once Alex turns back to Aaron, she sees his eyelids flutter open, only slightly. She notices that Spencer perks up at the end of the couch, noticing that small change in his soul bond mate.

"Spencer," comes from the alpha. The submissive male is immediately by Aaron's side, gripping his hand. It seems so natural...for an unbonded pair. Alex wipes down the shoulder wound, before she gets out the needed supplies, and stitches up the stomach wound. When she gets halfway done with her work, she notices how Spencer's nostrils flare, his pupils dilate, and his grip on his soul bond mate's hand tightens. She was wondering what was wrong, when she smelled it. The intruder's scent, strong, and prominent on the alpha's skin. Alex wonders how she didn't smell it before, but then again, the smell of blood masked it.

From the way Spencer was reacting, she could only guess he knew the wolf who attacked their alpha. She made a mental note to ask the young male about it once her job was done. Once it was, and Aaron was soundly asleep again, and when she was putting her tools away, she decided to ask, "Spencer...do you know who attacked Aaron?"

She watches as he tenses up, before watching him nod. "Yes..." he whispers, "His name is Tobias Hankel, and we were once packmates. When my mother and I got kicked out of our original pack, we did rejoin another pack. We left when I was sixteen because a wolf, Tobias, had tried to forcibly mate with me. My mother had decided that me being out of harm was better than being in a pack...so we left."

Alex stares at the young wolf, and felt a pain of sympathy towards him. But, she knew there was more to it than what he was telling her. "Spencer...there's more than just this, isn't there?" Spencer turns his head away from the older woman, but Alex didn't miss the tear that slid down his face.

"I...I don't want to talk about it."


	7. Chapter 7

About a day passed before Aaron was coherent enough to tell them what happened, and a week passed before he could even sit up by himself. The alpha was forced to stay home, and even though he complained constantly, it wasn't as bad when Spencer was around. The alpha was more talkative about other subjects then, but as soon as the young timber wolf left, bam! He was once again a complaining and pouting alpha. He didn't like how he had to be stuck back at camp, while everyone else, including Garcia, went on border patrols, and even went hunting, while he was stuck at home with the pups. He didn't mind being with the pups, of course. But, he didn't like that helpless feeling he got everytime he would get up from the couch, would wince at the pain, and his pack mates (if any were there at the time) would give him a look of sympathy, and ask him if he needed help.

Another thing that bothered the alpha was getting bossed around by the people he viewed as the ones he should be commanding. Of course, Aaron knows very well that they're equals, but, the alpha inside of him howled with displeasure each time his packmates would race out the door, and he'd be forced to stay behind. Finally, though, about a week and six days, he managed to convince Alex to let him go out to get some exercise. Told her it wasn't good for him to be cooped up in the house all day. The beta didn't look so sure, but finally she agreed; but only if Spencer went with him. Aaron knew the reasoning behind it; the mated beta knew that if Aaron's future mate with him, that he wouldn't try to do anything to extensive. His mind would be distracted on keeping Spencer safe.

So, when the brown haired male returned to the house, the pack alpha wasted no time. He went up to Spencer, and told him the situation. The younger's brows had furrowed at that, but he only nodded, before heading outside with the alpha, and getting ready to change. That's where the two are at now; standing on the porch, undressing. Aaron takes a sharp intake of breath, as the new pink skin comes into contact with the cold air. He hurries up, and sheds the rest of his clothing, before turning into his wolf form; which, wasn't pleasant either.

Since he has not changed into his wolf form for so long, changing was painful. Aaron thinks that part of it is due to his wounds, but he's not quite sure. By the time Spencer was done changing, Aaron had already begun to walk around the clearing, loving and hating the burning feeling in his legs. Spencer pads up to his alpha. "We should go, before it gets dark out," he suggests to the older male sheepishly. He nods to the younger, before they head off to the territory. Spencer, through their walk, has to remind the wounded alpha constantly to slow down, even though the alpha solemnly listened.

The two stop in a clearing, by the river that runs through the territory. Aaron stretches out by the frozen river, as Spencer breaks a hole through the weak spot in the ice, and laps up some of the water, before laying down too. Aaron lets out a tired yawn, before sniffing at the air, mouth watering when he scents a squirrel; a very dumb squirrel, that seems to think that it is a clever idea to come by a hungry wolf. He slowly rises from his spot on the ground, and carefully stalks over to where the squirrel has taken refuge in a bush. He could feel Spencer's worried gaze burning into the back of his head, as he suddenly shoots forward and into the bush; not even giving that squirrel a chance.

When he snaps its neck, it dies with a loud squeak. He picks it up, before turning, and padding over to Spencer, joy filling him. Aaron drops it by Spencer's front paws, and even though he's starving, his first thought is to show his future-mate how good of an alpha he can be. The younger turns his gaze up to the alpha sitting in front of him, and whose tail is slapping against the ground uncontrollably with uncontrolled happiness. Not wanting to take away the joy Aaron is feeling, Spencer smiles, and as a sign of thanks, licks the amber-eyed wolf's cheek. A happy rumble erupts from the wounded's throat, as he watches Spencer eat the squirrel, leaving some for the other. What was left, Aaron finished quickly.

Now the two are resting by the river, Aaron stretched out alongside Spencer. They both knew they were going to have to head back soon, but neither of them wanted to as of that moment. They were both laying there in the snow covered clearing, even as the sky turned a beautiful shade of red, pink, and yellow, when suddenly, out of the blue, Spencer asked, "Why..why did you go after that wolf alone? Why didn't you request for any of us to help you?" Aaron could sense that Spencer wanted to add, 'Why were you so foolish, Aaron?'.

"I figured he wouldn't have ran. I figured he would have came out and told me what exactly he was doing in my territory. Most wolves usually do," he says slowly, easily choosing his words, "But, when he ran...I had not expected it. I thought the wolf of to be a coward, and somebody who any wolf could easily overpower. So...I just ran after him." The amber-eyed male pauses, before studying the other's posture. His body was rigid, and he chewed on his bottom lip, nervous. He obviously has something that he wants to say, but is forcing it back. "Spencer...did you know that wolf?"

Spencer nods, and tells him the same thing he told Alex. By the time Spencer was done speaking, Aaron was having a hard time with controlling his rage. He took a shaky breath, before looking at Spencer. "Spence...I'm sorry that you had to go through that. If I had been there, I would have killed him..."

"I know," the timber wolf responds, smiling at the wolf. "I think Alex did too, when I told her that the day you got injured." Aaron chuckles slightly, before they fall into a comfortable silence again.

Spencer shuffles his paws, nervously, before Aaron speaks up. "When I was younger..." he begins, drawing off. "My mother was abused by my father, and when I got a little older, so was I. I wanted nothing more than to leave the pack, and to never return, but I couldn't. I had a little brother, and mother to look after. I know what it's like, to have some happen to you in the past, that makes you cringe every time you think about it. Having a past that when you tell someone, or even think about telling someone, sympathy eyes appear immediately. You telling Alex, and me, both of us being people you've only know for a short time, that little tidbit of information...Spencer, you're brave in telling us that," the alpha tells the omega, building up the omega's confidence slowly.

The confidence Aaron seemed to have created in the omega seems to have faded, because a few seconds after the alpha finished his sentence, Spencer was slouching. "I'm not brave, Aaron. You're brave; you went through that torment your whole life, and never once abandoned your family. You stuck through it, because you wanted to make sure your family was not harmed. That is bravery, Aaron. I, on the other hand, have cowardice. Instead of facing them, I run away. Because I am a coward. A small, scrawny, and weak, coward."

Aaron chuckles slightly. "I've never even told anyone about what happened to me as a child before now, Spencer. That, right there, should show you how brave you are," he says, before standing up, before nuzzling the brown pelted wolf's ear. "Now, let's head back, shall we? It's getting dark out, and Alex probably thinks I'm injured somewhere dying and you're trying to find me." That causes Spencer to give a small chuckle, before he rises too, and begins to pad to camp.

MS

"You almost got caught by Hotchner!?" the pack alpha roars, as he slams the trembling Tobias into the wall of the cottage. "What the hell were you thinking?! I don't give a damn if he asked you who you were; you could of lied, god damn it!" The white and gray haired male tosses the other across the room, causing him to hit the wall on the other side of the room with a loud 'thump'. Tobias groans, and whines, even as his 'pack mates' stand by, watching the scene. Henry Grace, Carl Buford, and Johnny McHale just stood there, looking absolutely bored. Adam Jackson looked almost as terrified as Tobias, the only two females in the pack stand by, cheering with glee, wanting to see their pack mate's blood on the floor. "What kind of moron are you?!"

"I am sorry!" the dusty brown wolf whimpers, scrambling away from the angry alpha. "I did not mean to get caught! It's just that Hotchn-"

"Hotchner what?!" roars the white alpha.

"He scented me!" Tobias chokes out. "He's on high alert; supposedly, Spencer is his soul bond mate. They aren't sending off any t-taken pheromones, s-so I'm only assuming that he's trying to prove to Spencer that he'd make a good alpha, by keeping him safe from intruders." He gulps, as he hears Izzy Rogers snicker. He glares at the cold hearted bitch, who only smiles wickedly back.

The ferocious alpha's growing suddenly stops, and his mouth is pulled into a devilish grin. He begins to chuckle. "Ah...so, Aaron has another mate, eh? Goody," the alpha turns his back to his packmates, before stalking away. "I had been planning on taking out the little Hotchner boy...but taking about Spencer will be much more sweeter," he laughs, before disappearing into his room.

"Nice job, idiot," Izzy says, her smile growing, as she steps forward, as Tobias glares at her. "Don't screw up the next mission; or I'm sure our dear pack alpha will skin you alive, and make us all a nice little rug." Tobias' face grows pale, as the others all laugh.

"Shut up, you disgusting hag," he snarls, standing up. "Don't try to act all brave. We all know you're a coward inside; who would be a trembling mass of fear if you were pinned down by Aaron Hotchner." Izzy's laughter is abruptly cut off, and her demonic black eyes sharpen at that. Her eyes scream what she wants to do, and Tobias growls at her, to show he's ready to fight. It only takes a moment, before there's the tearing of clothes, a loud snarling noise, a flash of teeth, before two wolves are going at it in the middle of the house.


End file.
